[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 25 (Friday, February 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6773-6776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02385]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
Engineering IIP Program Monitoring Clearance

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13 (44 
U.S.C. U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), and as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on this information collection. This is the 
second notice for public comment; the first was published in the 
Federal Register at 79 FR 9485 and no comments were received. NSF is 
forwarding the proposed submission to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of this 
second notice. The full submission may be found at: http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

DATES: Comments regarding these information collections are best 
assured of having their full effect if received by OMB within March 9, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the information collection and 
requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
should be addressed to Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, 
National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 1265, Arlington, VA 
22230, or by email to [email protected]. Copies of the submission may be 
obtained by calling (703) 292-7556.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact Suzanne Plimpton, the NSF Reports 
Clearance Officer, phone (703) 292-7556, or send email to 
[email protected]. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 
1-800-877-8339, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 
days a year (including federal holidays).
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to 
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not 
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Collection: Engineering IIP Program; Monitoring Data 
Collections.
    OMB Number: 3145-NEW.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish specific 
collections for 5 IIP programs for post-award output and outcome 
monitoring.

Abstract

    Proposed Project: NSF provides nearly 20 percent of federal funding 
for basic research to academic institutions.\1\ Within NSF, the 
Directorate for Engineering (ENG) has primary responsibility for 
promoting the progress of engineering in the United States in order to 
enable the Nation's capacity to perform. Its investments in engineering 
research and education aim to build and strengthen a national capacity 
for innovation that can lead over time to the creation of new shared 
wealth and a better quality of life. Most NSF programs in engineering 
are funded through the Directorate for Engineering, which also sponsors 
the NSF's Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) Division. To 
these ends, ENG provides support for research and implementation 
activities that may meet national needs. While scientists seek to 
discover what is not yet known, engineers apply fundamental science to 
design and develop new devices and engineered systems to solve societal 
problems. ENG also focuses on broadening participation in engineering 
research and careers, particularly among those individuals 
traditionally underrepresented and underemployed in the STEM workforce, 
including but not limited to, women, persons with disabilities, and 
racial and ethnic minorities.
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    \1\ National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a glance. 
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp.
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    This request seeks approval for a group of information collections 
intended to monitor outputs, short-term, intermediate and long-term 
outcomes of NSF-ENG investments in research and innovation in the 
Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP). IIP programs 
serve the entire foundation by fostering partnerships to advance 
technological innovation and plays an important role in the public-
private

[[Page 6774]]

innovation partnership enterprise by investing in science and 
engineering research across all disciplines that have the potential for 
high impact in meeting national and societal needs. IIP focuses on 
leveraging federal, small business, industrial, university, state and 
community college resources.
    Genuine partnerships between academe and industry are an important 
aspect of IIP programs and should facilitate the types of 
infrastructure that can sustain and nurture the spread of innovative 
activity.
    Innovation infrastructures educate and train human capital for the 
research enterprise and the entrepreneurial aspects of innovation; 
develop social networks characterized by shared commitment and trust; 
and build a base of operational support without which sustainable 
partnerships cannot exist. This support includes a diversified base of 
private investment, a physical place to provide a context for 
incubation, technical, management, and administrative support, 
laboratories, communications services, and reliable sources of capital. 
One end of the innovation spectrum within the division includes 
unsolicited research proposals generated by the academic community. On 
the other end of the innovation spectrum, IIP supports small business 
research proposals aimed at pursuing opportunities to commercialize 
products and services.
    IIP is home to the two Congressionally mandated small business 
research programs, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 
program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. IIP 
also manages the Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation 
Research (PFI:AIR) as well as the Partnerships for Innovation: Building 
Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) program, which stimulate innovation by 
building partnerships across the scientific, engineering, and business 
community. In addition, the IIP leverages industrial support through 
the Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) program. 
The division also actively participates in NSF-wide programs, such as 
the Grants Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) 
program. Another NSF-wide program in which IIP actively participates is 
the Innovation Corps program (I-Corps), which equips scientists with 
the entrepreneurial tools needed to transform discoveries with 
commercial realization potential into innovative technologies.\2\ ENG-
funded projects could include research opportunities and mentoring for 
educators, scholars, small businesses and university students.
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    \2\ National Science Foundation. (2014) About IIP. Retrieved 
from http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/about.jsp.
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    These survey questionnaires, individually tailored to measure 
outputs and outcomes for different programs, will provide essential 
information for program monitoring purposes. Data collected by ENG IIP 
program monitoring collections will be used for program planning, 
management, and evaluation. Summaries of monitoring data are used to 
respond to queries from Congress, the public, NSF's external merit 
reviewers who serve as advisors, including Committees of Visitors 
(COVs), and NSF's Office of the Inspector General. These data are 
needed for effective administration, program and project monitoring, 
evaluation, and for measuring attainment of NSF's program and strategic 
goals, as identified by the President's Accountable Government 
Initiative, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) 
Modernization Act of 2010, and NSF's Strategic Plan.
    The seven (7) program-specific collections included in this request 
are designed to assist in management of specific programs and to serve 
as data resources for current and future program evaluations. As such, 
expected outcomes could vary according to the nature of the program 
funding, field of study, and other program characteristics.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Office                              Programs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrial Innovation and Partnerships   Grant Opportunities for
 (IIP).                                   Academic Liaison with Industry
                                          (GOALI).
                                         Innovation Corps (I-Corps).
                                         Partnerships For Innovation:
                                          Accelerating Innovation
                                          Research (PFI:AIR).
                                         Partnerships For Innovation:
                                          building Innovation Capacity
                                          (PFI:BIC).
                                         Small Business Innovation
                                          Research (SBIR).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This data collection effort will enable program officers to 
longitudinally monitor outputs and outcomes given the unique goals and 
purpose of their programs. This is very important to enable appropriate 
and accurate evidence-based management of the programs and to determine 
whether or not the specific goals of the programs are being met.
    Grantees will be invited to submit this information on a periodic 
basis via data collection methods that include but are not limited to 
online surveys, interviews, phone interviews, etc. These indicators are 
both quantitative and descriptive and may include, for example, the 
characteristics of project personnel and students; sources of 
complementary cash and in-kind support to the ENG project; 
characteristics of industrial and/or other sector participation; 
research activities; education activities; knowledge transfer 
activities; patents, licenses; publications; descriptions of 
significant advances and other outcomes of the ENG-funded effort.
    Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF 
internal reports, historical data, program level studies and 
evaluations, and for securing future funding for the ENG program 
maintenance and growth. These data could be used for program evaluation 
purposes if deemed necessary for a particular program. Evaluation 
designs could make use of metadata associated with the award, and other 
characteristics to identify a comparison group to evaluate the impact 
of the program funding and other interesting research questions.

[[Page 6775]]



                                               Estimate of Burden
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                                                                                   Annual number
                        Collection title                             Number of       of hours/      Annual hour
                                                                    respondents     respondents       burden
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Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)..             200               2             400
Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Longitudinal Collection..............             800             .25             200
Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Pre-Course Survey Questionnaire......             150             .25            37.5
Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Post-Course Survey Questionnaire.....             150             .25            37.5
Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research                200               2             400
 (PFI:AIR)......................................................
Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity                     30               2              60
 (PFI:BIC)......................................................
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR).......................           1,100               2           2,200
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           2,630            8.75           3,335
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    Below is an example that shows how the hour burden was estimated 
for the monitoring system.
    The estimated average number of annual respondents is 2,630, with 
an estimated annual response burden of 3,335 hours. For post-award 
monitoring systems, IIP expects to collect data at 1, 2, 5, and 10 
years post-award, in order to have the best chance of capturing the 
more immediate outcomes expected by 1-2 years post-award, intermediate 
outcomes at 5 years post-award, and long-term outcomes/impacts at 10 
years post award. These seven (7) data collections spread over the span 
of 10 years; this averages to 0.25 data collections/year. For the IIP 
division, many awards are made in translational research, such that we 
might expect a shorter and more condensed timeline of outcomes and 
impacts. Thus, some programs may wish to collect data quarterly for the 
first two years of the award, and then once annually at 5 and 10 years 
post-award. The annual number of responses for the first 2 years post 
award is included in this table.
    For life-of-award monitoring, the data collection burden to 
awardees will be limited to no more than 2 hours of the respondents' 
time in each instance.
    Respondents: The respondents are PIs, partners or students. For 
some programs (I-Corps) the burden already includes a response from 3 
members of the team in the pre and post surveys. For all others, one PI 
or assignee per award completes the questionnaire.

Estimates of Annualized Cost to Respondents for the Hour

    Burdens: The overall annualized cost to the respondents is 
estimated to be $215,660. The following table shows the annualized 
estimate of costs to PI/program coordinator respondents, who are 
generally university professors. This estimated hourly rate is based on 
a report from the American Association of University Professors, 
``Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2011-12,'' 
Academe, March-April 2012, Survey Report Table 4. According to this 
report, the average salary of an associate professor across all types 
of doctoral-granting institutions (public, private- independent, 
religiously affiliated) was $86,319. When divided by the number of 
standard annual work hours (2,080), this calculates to approximately 
$41 per hour.

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                                                 Number of       Burden hours    Average hourly     Estimated
                 Respondent                     respondents     per respondent        rate         annual cost
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PIs, Assignees, Partners or Students........           2,630                2              $41         $215,660
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated Number of Responses per Report

    Data collection for the collections involves all awardees in the 
programs involved. The table below shows the total universe and sample 
size for each of the collections.

 Respondent Universe and Sample Size of ENG Program Monitoring Clearance
                               Collections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Universe of
            Collection title                respondents     Sample size
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison             200             200
 with Industry (GOALI)..................
Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Longitudinal              800             800
 Collection.............................
Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Pre-Course                150             150
 Survey Questionnaire...................
Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Post-Course               150             150
 Survey Questionnaire...................
Partnerships for Innovation:                         200             200
 Accelerating Innovation Research
 (PFI:AIR)..............................
Partnerships for Innovation: Building                 30              30
 Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC)..........
Small Business Innovation Research                 1,100           1,100
 (SBIR).................................
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[[Page 6776]]

    Dated: February 3, 2015.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2015-02385 Filed 2-5-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P